Snow Demon
by StellaWolf
Summary: Ariana Snowdriff is a werewolf that lives on a very cold, snow covered mountain. What happens when she leaves the home she's known for 100 years to explore what she doesn't know? And how did she end up at Fairy Tail? Will she come to trust in the mages, and find love along the way? Not very good with summaries, but please give this a try!
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic, so I hope I do ok. Please leave reviews!  
**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL, only the OC is mine.  
**

It was a normal day like any other in the town of Magnolia. The sun was shining, a gentle breeze blowing, and the guild Fairy Tail causing chaos like usual. Gray and Natsu were butting heads fighting over something, Erza was enjoying her strawberry cake; Lucy, Levy, and Wendy were at a table talking about something, Happy was gifting Carla with a fish, and Mira was just standing behind the bar smiling and serving others their drinks.

Yes, today was very normal indeed. Well, until Elfman came in with an injured wolf over his shoulder. "Where's Wendy?" He asked, looking around the guild for the sky dragon slayer. Wendy heard her name and jumped out of her seat and ran to Elfman, looking at the animal on his shoulders. "What happened Elfman?" The young mage asked. Elfman started walking over to an empty table and placed the wolf on it while answering her question, "I was on my way here when I found this wolf laying bleeding in an alley-way." Wendy followed after him and inspected the bleeding wolf, it's fur was a lovely snow white color, with a big gash going across its lower neck and chest, with smaller scratches on its legs and back. "I'll see what I can do!" Wendy exclaimed, beginning to heal the animal. The wolf twitched slightly at the touch of the healer's magic, but didn't show any sign of waking up; by now, almost the whole guild was watching what was going on, curious about the wolf laying on the table.

In a matter of minutes, Wendy finished healing the wolf, the bleeding had stopped, and all the minor injuries were completely gone; but the big gash on its chest was still there, though it had been almost completely healed. Mira walked over and started to help Wendy and Elfman bandage its chest. "Thank you, Mira." Wendy said, looking at the oldest take-over mage. "You're welcome. Elfman, maybe you should put this wolf up in the infirmary." Elfman only nodded and carefully picked up the wolf and carried it away, once it was on one of the beds, he came back and explained to everyone how he came across the injured animal.

After a while, everything went back to normal again. Natsu and Gray started another fight, with Juvia silently cheering for Gray from behind a pillar. Erza finished off what was probably her tenth piece of cake, and stopped the two from fighting, making them cower in fear and pretend to be best friends.

~Wolf's POV~(to earlier)

I have only just arrived in this town, known as Magnolia, and already I'm enjoying myself. All new sorts of sights and smells to discover, not to mention food! I padded through the town, being careful of my surroundings when I caught the delightful sent of MEAT. I never understood why humans cooked their meat, but just one taste and I was hooked; never again did I eat meat raw, unless the situation demanded it. I followed the scent to a market with different food stalls, humans were everywhere, which means I had better be careful.

After sniffing and looking around, I finally caught a whiff of the smell of meat again and followed it eagerly. I finally reached the source of the smell and nearly drooled at the sight; I quickly looked around to make sure nobody was looking and stole a piece of meat from the stall and ran off. Once I was sure I was far enough away, I sat under a tree and began to devour the meat.

Once I was done eating, I licked my muzle clean and began searching for a pond to get a drink. A few moments of searching and I managed to find a pond in some sort of park and began to lap up water to satisfy my dry throat.

After having a refreshing drink, I sat down and took in my surroundings for a while.

~In the infirmary~

My dream started fading into nothing as I started to wake up. Opening my eyes, I noticed that I was not outside, but in a building, and by the look and smell of it, it was some sort of clinic. After taking in the surrounding scents, I realized I was laying on what humans called a 'bed,' it felt soft and comfortable, but I was still confused as to how I ended up in this place.

Blinking, I cautiously started to sit up so that I could get a better look around from atop the bed. My body was a little in pain, but I ignored it for the moment and looked for the exit to the room. Spotting a closed door, I thought it over carefully if it would be wise to leave or not. After a few moments of thinking, I decided it would be best to leave. Leaping down from the bed carefully, I started walking over to the door, halfway there I heard a low creaking noise and saw the door open. Standing in front of me in the open door-way was a pretty looking human female with long white hair and blue eyes, we just stared at each other for a moment. _Well, now what should I do..._

~Mira's POV~

It's been almost two hours since Elfman carried that wolf to the infirmary. _I should probably check on the wolf_, Mira thought to herself. Putting down the now clean mug she was wiping, Mira made her way over to the infirmary and opened the door. Standing there, halfway to the door was the wolf that my brother brought in. I stared into its light green eyes as it stared back at me. _What to do now..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the 2nd chapter, hopefully it's to your liking! Please review and tell me your thoughts.**

As Mira and the wolf continued to have a staring contest, the wolf decided it was about time to say something. "Excuse me, but could you tell me where I am?" Mira was a bit shocked that the wolf spoke, but recovered quickly and smiled while responding, "You're in our infirmary. My brother found you injured and bleeding so he brought you here to be healed."

"I see..." Was all the wolf could think of to say in return. "Than may I meet this brother of yours, and the person who healed me? So I can thank them?"

"Of course! Please follow me." Mira replied, backing up a bit, to let the wolf leave the room. Once the wolf was standing beside Mira, she closed the door and began walking back to the guild hall to find Elfman and Wendy, with the wolf following her.

Mira reached the guild hall and began looking for her brother and the young dragon slayer. Upon seeing the young healer at a table talking to Carla and her sister Lisanna, she walked over to her and called out to her. "Wendy."

Wendy turned her head to face Mira and smiled, "Oh, hi Mira. Is there something I can do for you?" Mira only smiled and gestured at the ground where the wolf was standing. "You must be the one who healed me. I thank you for that." The wolf said to the young girl. Wendy was quite shocked that the wolf was speaking to her, and smiled nervously while looking at the wolf. "You're welcome, I'm just glad you seem to be feeling better already." At that moment a crash was heard, followed by some shouting. All five of them turned their heads to the noise and found that a guild brawl had started.

"Well it seems you'll have to wait to meet my brother Elfman..." Mira said with a sigh. The wolf only nodded her head in understanding and looked around the guild hall, taking everything in. "So, what kind of place is this exactly?" The wolf questioned out loud.

"This is the guild Fairy Tail!" Lisanna explained with a bright smile. "You've heard of mage guilds before haven't you?"

"Yes, I have heard of them, but have never seen one until now." The wolf replied, watching the brawl that was getting louder and more violent.

"Put some clothes on Stripper!"

"What was that, Flame-brain?!"

"Fighting is MANLY!"

"Shut up you morons!"

"What did you say, Metal-head?!"

The loud shouting was starting to hurt the wolf's ears and was about to growl her annoyance when suddenly, before anyone could react, a blur rushed passed and crushed the wolf onto the ground. Growling she pushed the human that crashed into her off her body and stood up, turning into a human and rushing into the brawl. "YOU'RE ALL GIVING ME A HEADACHE!" As those words left her mouth, a raging snowstorm was going on in the guild hall, only to subside a few moments later. Everyone turned their heads to look at the girl who shouted, only to be met with glaring light green eyes.

The girl was somebody nobody recognized; she was a young woman with long white hair that went a little below her shoulders, with white wolf ears on top of her head. She was wearing a sleeveless icy blue colored shirt, with a matching knee-length skirt, and a white wolf's tail was seen swaying back and forth in irritation.

Everything and everyone was silent for a while until someone finally spoke up. "What's going on here?" Everyone turned their heads, including the strange girl, to look at who spoke. It was none other than Master Makarov. The tiny old man looked around the guild hall and his eyes stopped on the girl with wolf ears. He jumped down from the second floor and walked over to her. "Who might you be, young lady?" The girl stared at the short old man for a moment before blinking once and giving him a reply. "My name is Ariana Snowdriff. I am the white wolf that was in your infirmary earlier." The girl explained.

"Wait. YOU'RE the wolf I brought here earlier?" Elfman asked, completely shocked.

"That is correct, so then you're the man that brought me here." Ariana faced him, smiled, and bowed. "Thank you for bringing me here, I'd hate to think what could have happened if you hadn't found me when you did." She then turned back to look at the small old man.

The guild master seemed to be in thought. "So, that snowstorm that appeared out of nowhere. Was that your doing?" He asked. Ariana only nodded in response.

"How can she be a wolf and a human?! That doesn't make any-" Natsu started, but was interrupted by Gray.

"Shut up Squinty!"

"You wanna go, Droopy-eyes?!" Once again they started a verbal fight while headbutting each other.

"ENOUGH!" A giant hand smashed down on the two of them, stopping them from fighting any longer.

"I'm a werewolf actually, with blizzard magic." Ariana responded, referring to Natsu's question before being interrupted by Gray. "I lived on a cold, snow covered mountain half a year ago. I left to explore more of the world, and I came to this town a few days ago."

"Just how long have you lived on that mountain, exactly?" Lucy questioned, a little curious to know.

"About 100 years." Ariana answered simply. Everyone went wide-eyed and slack-jawed upon hearing that.

"How have you been able to live for so many years?!" Levy squeaked. She couldn't stop the question from coming out, she didn't think it was possible for someone to live for so long without aging into an old person.

Ariana however, only shrugged to the question and looked at the person who asked it. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Excuse me. Um, do you mind if I ask how you ended up getting injured?" Wendy asked nervously, fiddling with her fingers that were laying on her lap. Ariana nodded at her and began telling them how she got hurt so badly.

~Flashback(Ariana's POV)~

I was enjoying the afternoon sun, laying under a large tree that provided a lot of shade, when a strange scent caught my attention. I opened my eyes and searched my surroundings for anything strange, but found none. The scent hit my nose again, only it seemed to be slightly stronger, as if it was coming closer to where I was.

I growled lowly. I didn't like this scent one bit, it made my fur stand on end. Getting up onto my paws, I took a quick look around my surroundings again and began trotting away from where the scent was coming from. I passed by many humans, while some stared at me, others ignored. I realized a little late that I was attracting some unwanted attention, so I slipped through the places where the shadows would be dark enough to hide my white fur.

Using the shadows, alleys, and objects at the side of the streets, I continued to stay hidden and make my way somewhere far away from that strange scent. Sniffing the air occasionally, I suddenly got distracted by the smell of food. I shook my head fiercely to clear those distracting thoughts from my head. _Focus! Don't let the smell of human food cloud your mind and judgement, I thought I had more control than that._ I thought to myself, quietly and swiftly sneaking away, passing by all the tempting food stalls.

Once I thought I was far enough away, I ended up in a place that was unfamiliar to me. Although I've spent a few days in this town, I still don't know my way around that well just yet. "Tracking you down was a little more challenging than I thought!" I stiffened at the unfamiliar voice and quickly turned around to face the human who spoke to me and growled, "Who are you?!"

"Me?" The man grinned evilly and licked his lips, pulling out a dagger. "I'm a hunter, and I've been hunting you ever since you left that frigid mountain." The man before me was tall, wearing a long black trench-coat with black pants and shoes. On his head was a black hat that matched his outfit, his red hair was long and strait, down to his shoulders, with black streaks. I looked into his eyes and froze for a moment, unable to move. His eyes were a dull grey color, but I could see it in eyes, he couldn't wait to fight me. He had seemed to enjoy hunting me down and trapping me like some wild animal, and his facial expression showed it all.

I shivered at the look he was giving me and began to tremble. "What's the matter, not scared of me are you?" The man taunted, his grin growing wider as he laughed. "Fight me! Show me what the Snow Demon of the Northern Mountains can do!" The man then lunged forward, attempting to stab me with the dagger in his hand. I managed to leap out of the way just in time before his weapon only cut air. I growled at him, baring my fangs and standing my ground.

"Foolish human, I won't let myself be harmed so easily!" I let out a loud growl and ran toward him, latching my jaw onto one of his legs. Before he could react, I quickly pulled my head to the side, letting him fall flat onto his back. Unfortunately, he managed to cut a long, deep cut on my chest before I could back away. I gritted my fangs and growled at him, feeling some of my blood drip from the fresh wound and onto the stone below.

The man started giggling like an excited child and got to his feet, some blood dripping from the wound on his leg. "Excellent, excellent! This will be so much fun!" He gave a creepy looking grin and started cackling like a mad-man. "Yes, this is going to be so much fun! Zane, the wolf hunter takes out the Snow Demon of the Northern Mountains!" The man known as Zane began cackling again, louder this time, as he pulled out another dagger. "All the wolves I've hunted have been so boring, and didn't put up much of a fight. But you, you will definitely be able to give me the excitement I've been looking for."

I began to tremble again. His facial expression and words were starting to get to me. _I won't lose. I CAN'T lose! This maniac cannot be allowed to do as he_ _pleases!_ I stopped trembling and stood my ground, growling angrily at the man before me. "I will not lose to a human like you!" I roared and charged at him, slipping under him to avoid being cut by the daggers, only to be unsuccessful. I turned around quickly and jumped onto his back and sank my fangs into his right shoulder. I heard him scream in pain and try to lash out at me with his daggers, but they only managed to scratch me. I sank my fangs in deeper into his flesh, the taste and smell of his blood filling my senses. I let go, landing with my paws on the ground, my claws making a soft 'click' as they touched the stone.

Zane was in pain, but he turned around as fast as he could to slash back at me, I leaped out of the way, and charged at him again. This went on for awhile before we were both panting heavily, from both exhaustion and blood loss. I needed to end it, but I didn't want to kill him. It didn't feel right with me, taking a human's life, so I went for the next best thing. My fur stood on end as I gathered my magic, and within the next few seconds, a strong blizzard was raging around the two of us. I kept my eyes on him as he gritted his teeth and started to shiver from the cold, after a few minutes he collapsed on the ground breathing heavily.

I kept the blizzard going until he passed out, and only then did I stop my magic. I sighed and started to walk away, my steps were slow and my legs began to tremble from weariness because of my fight moments before. I managed to make it into an alley-way before I collapsed and passed out, letting the darkness consume me.

~End Flashback~

Everyone was silent, taking in the information that Ariana had said. After a few moments, someone spoke up. "Why didn't you just fight him in your human form, wouldn't it have been a lot easier?" Everyone turned to the person who spoke, which was Gray. Surprisingly, he was fully dressed and sitting at a table drinking something.

"His only weapons were the daggers, and it's hard to hit a target with that type of weapon if the opponent is shorter than you." Ariana responded. Gray just stared for a minute before nodding his head in understanding.

"Well if it was me, I would have pulverized the guy into the dirt!" Natsu roared, grinning at the thought.

"Do you even have a brain in that head of yours? She couldn't!" Gray exclaimed, standing up and glaring at Natsu. Natsu just punched Gray in the face, and once again yet ANOTHER fight between the two breaks out, leaving everyone in the guild hall sweat-dropping at them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Glad to see some people are enjoying this story, that makes me want to keep going. Please leave reviews, they help give me motivation!**

* * *

After Erza knocked out Natsu and Gray for fighting again, everyone turned their heads to look at Ariana. Ariana seemed to be having a staring contest with Carla; they just stared blankly at each other, not moving, and not saying anything to each other.

"You're obviously no ordinary cat." Ariana stated, blinking a couple times. "Just what kind of cat are you?"

"I am an Exceed, there are two others in this guild as well." Carla responded, looking around the guild hall for the others. She spotted them at the bar, eating their respective favorite food.

Pantherlily heard the conversation and turned from his plate of kiwi to look at Ariana. "My name is Pantherlily, but everyone just calls me Lily most of the time." He then gestured to the blue cat munching on a fish, "and that is Happy."

"My name is Carla." The white Exceed said.

"Nice to meet the three of you." Ariana looked at the three Exceeds and smiled slightly. Then one after another, everyone started to introduce themselves to her. The only person left was the tiny old man.

"And I am the master of this guild, Makarov." He stated. "How would you like to join our guild?" Ariana looked at the guild master with a slightly shocked expression.

"Are you sure that you would want someone like me in your guild?" Ariana asked. "I've been alone ever since I was born on the mountain, and I'm not used to interacting with others, mostly humans. I've only ever had the snow and the animals I hunt for food as my companions."

"My dear, that does not matter. This guild is like a family, we all protect each other. Some of our members are like you and have been alone for far too long, and we all have personalities that make us unique." Makarov started. "Although the idea may seem foreign to you, I would be honored if you would join our Fairy Tail family."

Ariana wasn't sure what to make of Makarov's little speech. She was hesitant to join the guild, looking around the guild hall she saw many smiling faces directed toward her, with some emotionless ones as well. _Just what do they expect me to say? I have been alone for 100 years, and have been content with that kind of life...can I really be welcomed so quickly into this wizard guild? Into this strange family of people?_

Ariana thought it over a little more. She remembers how lonely life was for her on the mountain, with the occasional lost human running into her. _Can I trust them?_ She wondered. _Can these strange humans take away some of this lone__liness I've felt for so many years? _Her thoughts were cut when she heard the guild master speak. "So what do you say, will you join this guild, and become a part of our family?"

Going through her thoughts once more, Ariana realized just how alone she has been over her long span of life. She never recalled ever having someone take care of her when she was brought into the world._ I was never even born normally, now that I think about it. I only remember waking up in the snow one day, with only my name to recall. It took me years to learn how to take on a human form, and never once did I ever stop to think about my life. I just let my thoughts and actions run freely, barely paying attention to the limited world of snow and mountains that surrounded me. Only in the last few years did I start to take control over my own actions and thoughts, which led me to where I am today. Away from the mountains, and into the lives of humans. _

After gathering her thoughts, the werewolf decided that it would be good for her to try and be social, even just a little bit. With a determined expression on her face she faces Makarov to give him her reply to his offer. "I'll join." Makarov smiled, happy to have a new member added to the family, and motioned for Mirajane to bring the guild stamp over. The woman was more than happy to comply, rushing over with the stamp in her hands and a smile on her face.

"Where would you like it and what color?" Mira asked once she reached them.

"Left hand, icy blue...please." Ariana held out her left hand for the woman to stamp, and looked at the symbol that labeled her a wizard of the guild known as Fairy Tail.

"WELCOME TO FAIRY TAIL!" The entire guild shouted.

"To celebrate the new addition to the guild, LET'S PARTY!" Makarov shouted, earning loud cheers from all over the guild hall. Ariana had to clamp her hands over her ears to save them from ringing at the loud and almost deafening cheers of the people surrounding her.

* * *

The party was like any other in Fairy Tail, the only difference was they had a good reason to party this time. The newest member of the guild sat at a table with some of the girls, talking. "So, Ariana. What kind of things do you like to do?" Lucy asked, looking at the woman in question that was seated across from her.

"I've actually taken a liking to reading. These books that you humans write can be very interesting." The werewolf answered, poking at a piece of cake that Mira set in front of her only moments before.

"Anything else besides reading?" Levy questioned. She was pleased to find out that the wolf beside her had an interest in reading, but wanted to know a little more about her before asking the types of books that she's read.

"Not really. I do enjoy being surrounded by nature though, the natural sounds sooth me, make me feel at peace." Ariana replied. "What is this thing?" She questioned, poking the cake in front of her again with a fork. "It smells edible, but I've never seen this kind of food before."

"You've never seen cake before?" Erza questioned, with a slightly shocked expression. The scarlet haired woman then looked down at her own piece of strawberry cake and couldn't even fathom the idea of not having it in her life.

The white haired wolf stabbed her cake with the fork and shook her head. "I've only ever eaten meat, and vegetables every so often."

"Juvia thinks that Ariana should at least try it." Juvia stated. Ariana looked at the water mage for a moment before giving a short nod and placing a small piece of the cake in her mouth. Everyone watched her carefully, waiting to see what reaction she would make to the sweet.

A small smile appeared on Ariana's lips as she still held the fork near her mouth. "It tastes good." As she began to eat the rest of the cake, her tail was wagging slowly at her happiness of finding something new she could have joy in eating.

Erza nodded in approval of Ariana's reaction and started to eat her own piece of cake. The other girls at the table just smiled, then a thought hit one of them. "Where will you stay?" The one to ask this question was Wendy. All the girls, including Carla, looked at the young girl, realizing that she was right.

"She could always stay at the Fairy Hills dorm." Carla informed.

Ariana shook her head at the statement. "I've heard about these so-called 'dorms,' and the idea does not appeal to me." Once those words left her mouth, all the girls went into thought, including Carla.

"I know, you could stay with me for a while. At least until you find your own place, that is." The one to say this was Lucy. Everyone turned their heads to her as she spoke, and nodded in agreement at the end. Ariana also nodded, giving her a thanks at the offer, and told the blonde that she would try not to be a bother to her at her home.

* * *

Hours passed by as the partying continued into the night. Ariana managed to befriend most of the girls in the guild, along with a few of the guys, and the three Exceeds as well. When Lucy thought that it was late enough, she gathered Ariana and the both of them bid goodnight to everyone who was still conscious. On the way to her apartment, Lucy summoned Plue and he walked along beside them.

"What is that creature?" Ariana asked, looking at the odd shaking form.

"That's Plue! He's one of my spirits." Lucy answered with a smile.

"I see. So you are a celestial spirit wizard then. I've heard about that magic, not many people can use it."

Lucy nodded at her, and continued talking as they neared her home. "I have 4 silver keys, and 10 gold ones."

Ariana's face seemed to light up slightly at the mention of how many keys the young blonde had. "That's quite the accomplishment..Lucy, was it?" Lucy nodded her head as she opened the door to let them both inside the apartment and locked the door behind them.

"Would you like to take a shower first?" Lucy asked, as she set her keys and whip down on her dresser, along with the belt. "I'll look for some pajamas you can wear for the night."

"No need." Ariana stated, already starting to strip off her clothing. "I plan to sleep in my wolf form all night, so there won't be any need for me to wear anything during the night." Once that was said, she followed her nose to the room that had the scent of shampoo and other human hygiene products and closed the door to shower. Lucy was standing there stunned for a moment, before finally snapping back to reality and picked up the clothes that were on the floor and folded them neatly, putting them away for the night.

As Lucy waited for Ariana to finish showering, she decided to write a letter to her mom. Once written, she put it away with all the other letters and sent Plue back to the spirit world. Not long after that, Ariana came out of the bathroom as a wolf and walked over to where Lucy was. "Pick where ever you want to sleep for the night." She said to the wolf, gathering her pajamas and heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

Ariana looked around the small room and spotted a suitable place to sleep. She hopped up onto the armchair in the room and got settled for the night, her ears twitching slightly at the sound of the wind blowing gently outside against the window.

Lucy came out of her bathroom after a while and headed over to her bed, looking around the room and spotting a white ball of fur curled up on her armchair in the room. She smiled as she turned off the lights and crawled into her bed for some sleep. "Good night, Ariana."


	4. Chapter 4

**YAY, I'VE MADE IT TO CHAPTER 4! Just want to give a shout-out to ErzaDreyar, thank you so much for your reviews for each chapter, you've made me very happy when I read them, and I hope I won't disappoint in the future chapters! Please leave reviews! Don't let Erza hog all the thanks, haha ;)  
**

* * *

As the sun was beginning to rise higher into the sky, it penetrated into the home of a certain blonde. Groaning at the intrusion of the sunlight from her window, Lucy snuggled under her blankets more, attempting to hide her face from the sun. Just when she was about to try and sleep some more, she felt a light breath from next to her. Opening her eyes slowly, she noticed some pink hair. _Damnit Natsu..._

A tick mark appeared on Lucy's forehead when she saw how comfortable he looked sleeping in her bed right next to her. Moving slowly and carefully, she positioned herself just right and sent him flying off the bed and across the room with a 'Lucy Kick.'

Natsu groaned on the ground from the sudden impact, but remained on the floor on the other side of the room, and continued to sleep.

At the impact of Natsu hitting the floor, Ariana's head shot up and she jolted awake at the sudden noise. Looking around, she noticed the sleeping form of Natsu on the other side of the room. Irritated at having her sleep interrupted before she was ready to wake up on her own, she growled at the sleeping man on the floor and attempted to get a few more minutes of sleep.

"I'm sorry Erza, please don't hurt me!" Natsu mumbled in his sleep, his face showing fear as he faced Erza in his dreams.

"Lucy, what did you do to Natsu?" Happy's sleepy voice made the blonde look to her side where Natsu was before she kicked him, to find a blue Exceed sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

Lucy just sighed and layed back down on her bed, reaching over to pet Happy on the head. "Just go back to sleep Happy."

"Aye..." And in no time at all, the blue Exceed was curled up on the bed and sleeping once more.

After everyone got another hour of sleep, Ariana was the first to get up. She got off from the armchair and stretched, then used her nose to find where Lucy placed her clothes and put them on while the others were rubbing sleep away from their eyes.

Natsu was the next to get up, yawning loudly and stretching his arms above his head. He looked over to Lucy, who was awake and climbing out of bed. "Hey Luce! What's for breakfast?" He asked, getting up off the floor, wondering when and how he got there.

Lucy gave him a slight glare before sighing and going into the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone. Happy sprouted his wings and flew around the bedroom shouting about food, with Natsu joining him. Ariana looked at the two and sighed. _Some humans are just so strange...and tha__t cat, Happy is quite strange as well. _

Once she couldn't stand being around the fire breathing moron and his cat any longer, she went into the kitchen to see if she could be of any help to Lucy. The blond smiled at her and let her help with fixing the table and making the breakfast. Despite it being her first time in her life cooking, she did pretty well, at least it was edible.

After everyone ate, and Lucy had her shower, they started walking toward the guild. Happy all of a sudden thought it would be good to tease the new member of their guild, so without another thought, he sprouted wings and hovered near Ariana's head.

"Hey, Ariana. Do you liiiike anyone?" Happy questioned with a snicker as he held his paws to his mouth.

"No. Not in that way, at least." Was her immediate response, with no hesitation at all.

Happy pouted and flew between Lucy and Natsu to annoy the blonde girl.

* * *

They finally reached Fairy Tail, and Natsu of course made a loud entrance, kicking in the guild doors and shouting. Lucy and Ariana followed after him, and went to the table where Gray and Erza were sitting.

"Hey you guys!" Lucy waved cheerfully at her friends as she sat down next to Gray. Ariana, a little hesitant at first, sat down next to Erza.

"Hello Lucy, Ariana." Erza greeted.

"Hey Lucy, hey Ariana." Gray waved back.

"Luce, let's go on a mission!" Natsu came over to the table and sat down on the other side of Lucy. The girl just groaned, not really wanting to do a mission just yet.

"Good idea Natsu, we can take Ariana with us. So she can get used to how things work." Erza commented. Ariana blinked at her, not really sure if she wanted to go along with this. However, before she, or the still groaning spirit mage could protest a word, both Erza and Natsu went to look at the mission board. Gray, noticing the two women's silent protest, chuckled at them a bit, patting Lucy on the back in a comforting gesture.

"Ariana." A male voice called out. The wolf's ears twitched and she turned to face the one who called out to her. She smiled faintly once she saw who it was.

"Morning, Lily." The black Exceed smiled up at her from his place on the center of the table.

"I was hoping we could continue our conversation we were having last night before you and Lucy left." Lily was interested to learn more about her.

"I'd like to, but apparently I'll be going on a mission with Lucy and her friends." Ariana replied with slight sadness. She had grown quite fond of the black Exceed, and would even go so far as to think of him as a friend_. _Friend, huh? She's never once had a friend before, so the word seemed foreign to her.

"I see, when are you leaving?" Lily asked.

"In an hour." Everyone turned to the one who spoke, which was Erza, standing near the edge of the table holding out the flier for the other three to read. Natsu standing beside her, looking excited about the mission they picked.

Gray took the flier and read it out loud for Lucy and Ariana. Pantherlily listened as well, wanting to know what kind of mission they were going to be doing.

"Says here they want us to retrieve a magical amulet that's being guarded by a griffon. Whatever the hell that is..." Gray explained.

"I know what a griffon is." Ariana stated, taking a glance at the flier that was now on the table. "I'll tell you about them on the way there."

Everyone nodded their heads, knowing that packing should come first, explanations later. After making sure everyone knew what to bring along for the mission, Team Natsu, plus Ariana started leaving the guild. "Bye Lily." Ariana gave the Exceed a quick wave and walked out the guild doors behind Lucy.

* * *

When everyone was at the train station they all got on the train, with Erza dragging a reluctant Natsu. Once they were all seated, the train started moving. Natsu was lying down with his head in Lucy's lap, while the others sat across from them. Ariana was sitting between Erza and Gray, while Happy sat in the wolf's lap.

"What's wrong with him?" Ariana asked, staring at the groaning Natsu.

"Dragon Slayers have motion sickness."

"Ah. I see." Ariana blinked, still staring at him. "Are you well enough to hear what I have to say about the griffon?" All she got in response was a slight nod. She moved her gaze to look out the window as she began to explain.

"A griffon is a creature that is probably about the size of an adult horse, but sometimes they can get larger. They have the body of both eagle and lion, the front part is the eagle with talons for the front legs, while the lower half is the lion. Not only that, but they have the eagle's wings as well, which means they can fly."

Everyone thought over what was said, then began to plan the best course of action to take against the creature. After a while of discussing, Happy decided to give his input.

"Maybe I can be friends with it, because I'm a flying cat too!"

"Happy, it's more eagle than cat, really. I'm pretty sure it would rather hurt you." Ariana said.

Happy made a sad face, and everyone laughed a little. The Exceed just pouted and decided to curl up and get some sleep. Everyone followed his example and soon all but one was sleeping. Ariana continued to stare out the window of the train.

"I hope this griffon isn't hostile..." And with that, the wolf let her eyes close and drift to sleep.

* * *

At the sound of the train stopping, and the announcement of reaching their destination, everyone began to stir and wake up. Natsu yawned and quickly left the train, his shouts of joy from being off the train could be heard. Lucy was the next to get up and walk off the train, followed by Erza, Gray, and last but not least, Ariana, with a still sleepy Exceed in her arms.

As they searched for the home of the request sender, Happy finally woke up and started complaining that he wanted some fish to eat.

"We'll get you something later ok, Happy? Right now we have to meet the person who sent the request." Lucy said, looking back at the pouting cat. In one swift movement, Happy was suddenly in Lucy's arms, with Ariana nowhere in sight. The blonde blinked, wondering what had just happened.

"Hey, where did Ariana go?" Natsu asked. Erza and Gray were just as confused as the the other two.

"Here, this should keep you from complaining for a while." They all turned their heads to see Ariana holding a small bag. She opened it up and took out what looked to be a fish shaped cookie, and handed it to Happy.

"FISH!" Happy flew out of Lucy's grasp and took the cookie gratefully with drool hanging on the side of his mouth. He started munching on it, smiling as he did so. Everyone smiled, and continued walking. Happy landed on Ariana's shoulders and began to devour the rest of the cookies in the bag.

They finally reached the house of the request sender and Erza knocked on the door. The house in front of them was nice looking, a decent sized two story building with a flower garden in a window sill filled with all sorts of different color flowers. The door opened moments later and a tall, husky man was standing there.

"You are the mages that accepted my request, correct?" The man asked. The mages nodded and showed them their guild mark as proof. "Excellent! Please come in so I can explain in further detail." He stepped aside and let them come into the house, and led them to the living room. Everyone took a seat.

"Please explain this mission a little more, Mr...?" Lucy trailed off, realizing he never gave his name.

"My apologies, my name is Christoph Evans. Please just call me Chris." The man stated with a smile. "As I said in the request, I want you to retrieve a magical amulet that's being guarded by a griffon."

"What's so special about this amulet?" Natsu asked.

"That amulet has a special magic that will drain a wizards magic if used the right way. Something like that can't fall into the wrong hands, that is why I sent out a request for it to be retrieved." Chris explained.

"What do you plan to do with it once we give it to you?" Erza asked, concerned.

"I plan to give it to the Magic Counsel." Chris stated. Erza nodded her head approvingly.

"Very well. Don't you worry, we will get that amulet." Erza stood and bowed before walking away, signaling the others to follow.

"WAIT! I forgot to tell you where the griffon is, it's living in the forest temple on the west side of town!" Chris yelled after them, but they were already out the door. He sighed, hoping that at least one of them managed to catch what he just said.

Outside the house, the six of them began walking through the town, when Gray suddenly realized something.

"Wait, just where ARE we going to find this griffon anyway?" Gray asked. Everyone stopped walking, and Erza realized he was right.

"We must go back and ask!" Erza stated, about to turn around. _How could I forget such an important detail!_ She scolded herself.

"He shouted it as we were leaving. He said we can find the griffon in the forest temple on the west side of town." Ariana said. Lucy gave her a questioning look. "I have a canine sense of smell and hearing. I AM a wolf after all."

"Well I'm a Dragon Slayer, how come I didn't hear what he said?" Natsu wondered.

"Maybe because you weren't paying attention..." Lucy said mostly to herself.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"Hey!-"

"Enough. We know where to go now, thank you Ariana. Now let's go get that amulet." Erza began to storm off again, leaving the others to follow behind.


End file.
